The Genesis of Morality and the Historical Types of Moral Regulation

The article examines the historical conditions of the origin of morality and the logic of the evolution of early forms of moral regulation. The relevance of the topic is determined by the continuing scholarly interest in the origin of morality, in the relationship between custom, law, and ethics, and in the limits of moral progress. The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the historical conditions of the emergence of morality, to trace the transition from talion to the Golden Rule, and to characterize the historical types of moral regulation. The methodological basis of the article combines historical-philosophical, comparative-historical, and social-ethical approaches. A separate discussion section analyzes competing interpretations of moral progress and the tension between normative universalism and the socio-historical conditioning of morality. The article concludes that morality emerges as a mechanism for preserving human community and becomes more complex as forms of social life develop.